Relay base apparatus having a retaining clip mounted thereon

ABSTRACT

A relay base apparatus having means for receiving outwardly flexible legs of a retaining clip. The retaining clip comprises a top wall adapted to extend over the relay and a pair of legs extending downwardly from opposite sides of the wall to retain the relay therebetween. The lower extremities of the legs are outwardly flexible and are adapted to engage clip receiving means located on the base to form an integral unit therewith.

United States Patent 1191 Hollingsead et al.

1 51 Jan. 2, 1973 [54] RELAY BASE APPARATUS HAVING A RETAINING CLIPMOUNTED THEREON [75] Inventors: Robert Allen Holllngsead, Yorba Linda;Clyde Robert. Pryor, Anaheim, both of Calif.

[73] Assignee: Hollingsead-Pryor Enterprises, Inc.,

Los Angeles, Calif.

[22] Filed: Dec. 20,1971

. 1211 Appl. N6; 209,513

[52] US. Cl ..200/l68 C, 335/202 317/101 CC,

51 161. c1. .110111 9/08 [58] Field Of Search ..200/168 R, 168 B, 168 0;317/101 0, 113; 335/202 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS3,396,313 8/1968 Payne ..3 l7/l0l CC 2,896,045 7/1959 Brunicardi..335/202 x 3,242,285 3/1966 Obszamy et al. ..335/202 ux 3,130,2844/1964 Woods ..335/202 X 3,621,173 11/1971 OCheskey ..200/l68 c3,551,630 12/1970 Griffith ...200/l68 R Primary Examiner-H. 0. Jones-Attorney-Harold L. Jackson et al.

57 ABSTRACT A relay base apparatus having means for receiving outwardlyflexible legs of a retaining clip. The retaining clip comprises atopwall adapted to extend over the relay and a pair of legs extendingdownwardly from opposite sides of the wall to retain the relaytherebetween. The lower extremities of the legs are outwardly flexibleand are adapted to engage clip receiving means located on the base toform an integral unit therewith.

7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures RELAY BASE APPARATUS HAVING A RETAINING CLIPMOUNTED THEREON BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the InventionThe present invention relates to relay bases for supporting electricalrelays and more particularly to relay bases having retaining meansdetachably engaged thereto for removably securing the relay to the base.

2. Description of the Prior Art Heretofore, electrical relays have beenmounted on relay bases by the conventional methods of soldering, stakingor bolting. Although such mounting methods are used quite extensively,they all suffer from various shortcomings which hinder theirapplicability.

The shortcoming involved with soldering the relays to the base is thatthe relay cannot be easily removed for inspection, repair, orreplacement. In fact, if it is necessary to replace the relay the entirerelay-base unit must be discarded.

The identical shortcoming is encountered when the relay is staked to thebase because such installations are again permanent. I

If the relay is bolted to the base, it must be secured thereto by meansof lock nuts. The problem encountered with lock nuts is that they arerelatively more expensive than the two previously mentioned mountingmethods. Secondly, such lock nuts must be tightened by wrenches or othertools. This poses a problem when a multiplicity of relays are arrangedin a closely spaced array. Because of this, it is quite difficult toapply a tool to these nuts to adjust or remove the relays.

Another approach for mounting a relay to a base utilizes a springhold-down strap mounted over the relay with tabbed ends of the strapbeing connected to a mounting plate supporting the base. The shortcomingwith such an approach is that the mountingplate structure is of aspecial construction and is not particularly suited to most conventionalapplications. The present invention provides a relay base apparatus thatSUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly summarizing the present inventionobviates the above mentioned shortcomings by providing a relay baseapparatus that is easily adaptable to present day applications. Theapparatus comprises a relay base having a plurality of socketsforreceiving a plurality of terminal prongs of the relay. The basefurther comprises means located thereon for receiving outwardly flexiblelegs of a retaining clip. In one embodiment, these means comprise aplurality of studs threadedly engaged within bores formed on the outerextremities of the base. Each stud has an annular collar formed thereonfor engagingly receiving the retaining clip legs. In another embodiment,these means comprise a pair of slots formed on the base for receivingthe retaining clip legs. The retaining clip comprises a top wall portionadapted to extend over the relay and a pair of legs extending downwardlyfrom opposite sides of the wall to retain the relay therebetween. Thelower extremity of each leg is outwardly flexible to engage the clipreceiving means located on the base. The top wall portion of theretaining clip may also include pressure flngers for applying a downwardforce on the relay.

The primary advantage of the present invention is that the retainingclip can easily be attached'directly to the base without the need forany other additional support structure. Moreover, the retaining clip canbe attached or detached from the base without the use of any tool;thereby facilitating the inspection, repair, and replacement of therelay.

Another important advantage is that present day conventional bases canbe easily modified, in accordance with the present invention, to receivethe retaining clip to form an integral unit therewith.

The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel areset forth with particularity in the appended claims. The presentinvention, both as to its organization and manner of operation, togetherwith further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood byreference to the following description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a perspective view of oneembodiment of the relay base apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the presentinvention,

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the second embodiment taken along lines33 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of the second embodiment takenalong lines 44 of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS:

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a relay base apparatus,generally indicated by arrow 10, comprising a base 11 having a retainingclip 13 mounted thereon. The base 11 includes a main body portion 15having a support plate 17 formed in a conventional manner for supportinga contact plate 19. An electrical relay, shown in phantom lines, isadapted to be mounted on g the base 11 with the bottom portion thereofin electrical contact with the contact plate 19. The electrical relay isof conventional construction and is usually square shaped in form.

The support plate 17 further includes three flanged portions 21extending therefrom with each flange forming a bore which normallyreceives a threaded bolt when used in the conventional manner. However,in accordance with the present invention, each bore is fitted with astud 23 having a lower threaded-portion 25 extending through the boreand an upper portion 26 of a larger diameter which extends above theflange 21. The upper extremity of each stud 23 forms a collar 27 havingan annular groove formed therein.

The retainer 13 includes a top wall 29 extending over the upper face ofthe relay and a pair of legs 31 extending downwardly from opposite sidesof the top wall 29 to enclose the relay therebetween. Each leg 31 isoutwardly flexible with the lower extremities of each legforrning aslotted foot 33 which, in turn, is adapted to engage the annular grooveformedin each collar 27.

The top wall 29 further includes a pair of pressure flngers 35 extendingoutwardly from the center of the. wall section and flexing downwardly toengage the top surface of the relay and apply a retaining force thereto.

In mounting a relay onto the base 11, the relay is positioned on thecontact plate 19 of the base 11. The

retainer clip 13 is then placed over the relay with the resilient legs31 being flexed inwardly by hand until the slotted foot 33 is in thesame horizontal plane as the annular grooves formed by the collar 27. Atthis level, the pressure fingers 35 of the top wall 29 engage and applya retaining force to the top of the relay. The legs 31 are then releasedto flex outwardly to enable the slotted feet 33 to engage the respectiveannular grooves of the studs 23. In removing the retaining clip 13 toinspect, repair or replace the relay, the legs 31 are easily flexedinwardly by hand in order to disengage the studs 23.

An important advantage of this embodiment is that the base 13 is of aconventional construction and can be easily fabricated or obtained as anoff-the-shelf item. The only difference involved is that instead ofutilizing the bores for receiving threaded bolts, the studs 23 areinserted therein. Moreover, because of the convenient attaching process,the relays can be easily inspected, repair or replaced without the needof any special tools.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a second embodiment of the present invention isillustrated in which a base 40 comprises a plurality of prongs 41 forextending into an electrical socket (not shown). The base 40 alsoincludes a plurality of sockets 43 formed in the upper surface thereoffor receiving the terminal prongs of a relay (shown in phantom). Theouter extremities of the base 40 form a pair of slotted flanges 45 forreceiving a retaining clip 50.

The retaining clip 50 comprises a top wall 51 having a pair of rims 53extending over the lateral edges thereof. A pair of legs 55 also extenddownwardly from the opposite edges of the top wall 51 to extend throughthe slotted flanges 45. As in the previous embodiment, the legs 55 areoutwardly flexible, with the lower extremities of each leg 55 comprisinga tab 57 projecting outwardly therefrom. As-shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, thetabs 57 are adapted to extend beneath and engage the bottom surface ofthe flange 45.

In securing the retaining clip 50 to the base 40 after the relay hasbeen mounted therein, the retaining clip 50 is mounted over the relayand the legs 55 manually flexed inwardly against the sides of the relayuntil the tabs 57 of the legs 55 extend below the slotted flanges 45.The legs 55 are then released and are permitted to flex outwardly withthe tabs 57 engaging the flanges 45, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. In thismanner, a relay base apparatus is provided in which the retaining clipcan be easily attached and detached tothe relay base without anyadditional support structure and without the use of any special tools.

It should be noted that various modifications canbe made to theapparatus while still remaining within the purview of the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:

l. A relay base apparatus for fixedly supporting an electrical relaycomprising:

a base having contact means adapted to engage terminal means of therelay, said base further having means for receiving a retaining clip;and

a retainingclip having a top plateadapted to extend over the relay, theretaining clip further having leg means extending downwardly from thetop wall to engage clip receiving means on said base, said leg meansbeing outwardly flexible to engage the base,

whereb said retainin cli is ca able f b in detach d from the bas maually, vithou? the us of any tools.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said leg means comprise a pair oflegs extending downwardly from opposite sides of the top wall to retainthe relay therebetween.

3. The invention of claim 1 wherein said top wall further comprisesflexible pressure fingers adapted to apply a downward retaining force onthe relay.

4. The invention of claim 1 wherein said clip receiving means comprises:

a plurality of bores formed on the outer extremities of said base; and

a plurality of studs threadedly engaged within said bores, each studhaving an annular, collar formed on the upper extremity for engaginglyreceiving the leg means. g

5. The invention of claim 2 wherein said clip receiving means comprisesa pair of slotted flanges formed on opposite extremities of said base,said slotted flanges adapted to receive the outwardly flexible leg meansof said retaining clip.

6. The invention of claim 5 wherein the outwardly flexible leg means ofsaid retaining clip further comprises foot portions adapted to extendbelow the slotted flanges to engage the lower portion of the base.

7. The invention of claim 4 wherein the leg means of said retaining clipfurther comprises a slotted foot portion adapted to engage the annularcollar of each of said studs. I

1. A relay base apparatus for fixedly supporting an electrical relaycomprising: a base having contact means adapted to engage terminal meansof the relay, said base further having means for receiving a retainingclip; and a retaining clip having a top plate adapted to extend over therelay, the retaining clip further having leg means extending downwardlyfrom the top wall to engage clip receiving means on said base, said legmeans being outwardly flexible to engage the base, whereby saidretaining clip is capable of being detached from the base manually,without the use of any tools.
 2. The invention of claim 1 wherein saidleg means comprise a pair of legs extending downwardly from oppositesides of the top wall to retain the relay therebetween.
 3. The inventionof claim 1 wherein said top wall further comprises flexible pressurefingers adapted to apply a downward retaining force on the relay.
 4. Theinvention of claim 1 wherein said clip receiving means comprises: aplurality of bores formed on the outer extremities of said base; and aplurality of studs threadedly engaged within said bores, each studhaving an annular collar formed on the upper extremity for engaginglyreceiving the leg means.
 5. The invention of claim 2 wherein said clipreceiving means comprises a pair of slotted flanges formed on oppositeextremities of said base, said slotted flanges adapted to receive theoutwardly flexible leg means of said retaining clip.
 6. The invention ofclaim 5 wherein the outwardly flexible leg means of said retaining clipfurther comprises foot portions aDapted to extend below the slottedflanges to engage the lower portion of the base.
 7. The invention ofclaim 4 wherein the leg means of said retaining clip further comprises aslotted foot portion adapted to engage the annular collar of each ofsaid studs.